Alabama Governor Robert Bentley

Gov. Robert Bentley will join other officials in Cullman on Monday for the groundbreaking of an expansion at an automotive parts manufacturing company.

A spokesman for Bentley says about 200 jobs will be created by the expansion at REHAU. The company announced the 150,000-square foot expansion in June. The expansion will allow the company to develop and produce bumper assemblies for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and M-Class vehicles.

When the company announced the project, it set the first round of production for mid-2013.

Gov. Robert Bentley has become the first Alabama governor to serve as chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission.

The commission is an organization of 38 states involved in oil and natural gas production. Bentley's office said his goals as the chairman for 2013 include providing more extensive training for oil and gas inspector certification and bringing the states' regulatory and technical staffs together to share ideas and best practices.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says officials aren't sure whether the state will qualify for federal aid to help with recovery from the Christmas Day tornado outbreak.

Bentley's comments came Thursday in Prichard, where he is touring damage left by the storm. A twister left millions in damage at a trucking company the governor visited.

Bentley says the state is still compiling damage assessments from the storms, which hit multiple counties across the state. He says officials are trying to determine what sort of aid the state and local governments could receive.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is scheduled to tour the Mobile area to visit neighborhoods that were impacted by the storm system that recently tore through the area.

Officials in Bentley's office have announced the governor plans to join Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Art Faulkner Thursday to ensure communities that were impacted by the storm are connected to the resources they need.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says he will vote to retain Joseph Silver as president of Alabama State University unless he hears a legitimate reason why Silver should be fired.

Bentley serves as president of the Alabama state Board of Trustees by virtue of his position as governor.

The trustees have scheduled a meeting for 2:30 p.m. Friday and are expected to take a vote on whether to fire Silver two months after he was hired. The president was suspended shortly after he attempted to fire two top administrators.

Nine local governments in north and west Alabama have been awarded more than $15.7 million in grants to help with tornado recovery.

The grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development include $4.8 million to help rebuild Hackleburg's downtown. Eighteen people were killed and many of the businesses in the Marion County town were destroyed or heavily damaged by an April 27 tornado.

A state task force report will recommend ways to cut Alabama's law enforcement spending, most likely by combining some of the state's 22 law enforcement agencies.

The Anniston Star reports (http://bit.ly/UwnWEE) that members of the Integrated State Law Enforcement Task Force aren't yet giving specifics of what would be cut under the proposal. The report is to be delivered to Gov. Robert Bentley this weekend.

Escambia County Sheriff Grover Smith said the recommendations should bring Alabama in line with neighboring states.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead says he's disappointed Gov. Robert Bentley has abandoned him, but he doesn't think it will affect the outcome of his re-election bid.

Bentley held a conference call with members of the Republican Executive Committee Thursday night, where he endorsed Birmingham attorney Matt Fridy for the party's top leadership job. Bentley backed Armistead when he was elected two years ago. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Mike Hubbard are also backing Fridy.

Alabama's governor has appointed Republican state Rep. Jeremy Oden of Vinemont to a vacant seat on the Alabama Public Service Commission.

Gov. Robert Bentley said Friday Oden will resign from his north Alabama House seat before joining the state's utility regulatory board on Monday.

Bentley served with Oden in the House before becoming governor and said Oden will represent the needs of utility consumers in a fair and responsible manner. Oden will fill the seat held by Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh before she was elected president of the PSC on Nov. 6.

The governor is adding his voice to business and education leaders calling for an expansion of Alabama's small pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds.

Gov. Robert Bentley says he wants to expand pre-K education and considers it more important than the Alabama Reading Initiative.

Bentley's comments to a Birmingham business group came less than a week after the State Board of Education called for an extra $5 million next year. A coalition of business leaders, educators and children's advocates is pushing for an even bigger increase.

Gov. Robert Bentley has announced no decision yet on whether he wants Alabama to create a health insurance exchange or leave it to the federal government.

Friday is the deadline for states to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about what they intend to do. Exchanges are mandated by the Affordable Care Act for each state, but they can be state run or federally run.

Gov. Robert Bentley has announced no decision yet on whether he wants Alabama to create a health insurance exchange or leave it to the federal government.

Friday is the deadline for states to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about what they intend to do. Exchanges are mandated by the Affordable Care Act for each state, but they can be state run or federally run.

Alabama voters have approved a measure that Gov. Robert Bentley says will help bring jobs to the state.

Amendment 2 allows the state to sell more bonds to get money to offer industries to build or expand plants in Alabama. The constitution already allows the state to sell up to $750 million in bonds to offer as industrial incentives, and the state has issued $720 million.

Gov. Robert Bentley's administration has abandoned a budgeting process used by former Gov. Bob Riley's administration that required government agencies to set goals and plan their spending to achieve those goals.

The budgeting process, which went by the acronym SMART, was run out of the state's Executive Planning Office. The last person to head that office, Jonathan Barganier, says that data collected was useful, but it often wasn't used by legislators for budget decisions. He said the additional paperwork it required was a challenge.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley plans to ask legislators to pass a bill offering eligible state employees an incentive if they voluntarily retire. The governor announced details of the plan at a news conference Monday in Huntsville. He said it would either pay 100 percent of monthly premiums for health insurance for five years or offer $15,000 in cash payments. He said the program would help retiring workers while at the same time saving taxpayers between $18 million and $26 million a year.

Alabama's governor says five more counties will be eligible for federal aid aimed at helping communities recover from damage caused by Hurricane Isaac. Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement Thursday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the request. Bentley had sent a letter to FEMA saying the five counties -- Covington, Dallas, Geneva, Monroe and Perry -- suffered $2.5 million in damage. The five counties are now added to the list of counties that were already able to apply for federal public assistance.

Police say someone has broken into the private home of Gov. Robert Bentley in Tuscaloosa. A police statement issued Wednesday says officers responded to an alarm that went off at Bentley's home shortly before midnight on Sunday. A television was taken, but police say other items weren't reported missing. Police say someone entered the house through a window by force. No arrests have been made, but police say they are investigating. Bentley is a retired dermatologist who lived in Tuscaloosa before being elected governor. He and his wife now live in the governor's mansion in Montgomery.

Alabama's governor is asking for federal assistance for five more counties affected by Hurricane Isaac.

Gov. Robert Bentley sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency saying Covington, Dallas, Geneva, Monroe and Perry counties in south and west Alabama suffered $2.5 million in damage. Bentley said that's based on damage assessments completed this week.

State officials are criticizing a plan that would limit lock usage on the Alabama and Chattahoochee rivers.

Citing budget cuts and low river traffic, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said starting Oct. 7 it will allow commercial boats to transit the locks if boat operators make an appointment 72 hours in advance. The locks allow boats to bypass dams that obstruct river travel.

Recreational boats can use the locks only if the locks are being used for another purpose.

Alabama education officials say the state is No. 1 in the nation for the growth in high school students making qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams for the last five years and for the growth in minority students taking AP courses.

Gov. Robert Bentley, state school Superintendent Tommy Bice and supporters of the A Plus College Ready program announced Monday in Millbrook that qualifying scores have gone up 102 percent and minority participation 318 percent over the last five years.